Giovanni Ortega

GIOVANNI ORTEGA is a poet, playwright and performer. His book 'Leaves from the Silverlake Barrio' was published in October, 2012. He has performed his poetry and prose all over the country (PEN Center USA, KULARTS, Echo Park Library, Arkipelago Bookstore, Stories Books LA, Skylight Books, Tuesday Nights at the Café, California Lutheran University, Nuvein Foundation for Literature, Philippine American Writers and Artists ) and produced Noche de Artistas, an open-mic for Writers and Musicians. He is the artistic director of Mezçlão, a performing arts institution that nurtures artists in artistic diversity, ensemble collaboration, and inspiration. He wrote the play ALLOS: The Story of Carlos Bulosan, commissioned by East West Players Theater.

Giovanni at University of Louisiana, Lafayette

Acting performance

Leaves from Silverlake Barrio

'Leaves from the Silverlake Barrio' is a collection of prose and poetry about characters' stream of consciousness who come from different environments(Argentina, Louisiana,Philippines, Canada, Los Angeles and Alaska) but no matter how far they travel to leave their past, where they come from shapes their destiny and snakes back into their lives. He has produced the literary festival Kwento and curates the Kita Tayo sa SIPA Series. He also teaches educational workshops and travels the country with Playfair, a one-man show that incorporates improv with motivational speaking. Giovanni is currently a professor at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and the New York Film Academy.

The Story Behind the Book:

LEAVES FROM THE SILVERLAKE BARRIO, Written by Giovanni Ortega - published by The Undeniables The inspiration from this book was upon the death of Peter Corpus. It is based on different incarnations of him, but eventually led to the life of different Characters. LEAVES FROM THE SILVERLAKE BARRIO is a collection of short fiction and poetry that deals with the human existence seen from the viewpoints of different characters who come from varying environments, that share a certain sense of grief, isolation and hope. Based on the experience of losing a mentor, Leaves is what came out of a year long grieving process for the author who used writing as a means to immortalize someone who passed away. In the process of creating the stories written in the book, other characters emerge that have also had to deal with grief whether it is the physical loss of someone, the death of a relationship or the complete isolation of a character's circumstance. Although the Silverlake Barrio is a metaphor of how each person finds themself planted momentarily in a specific environment, it becomes apparent that no matter how far one runs away from where they come from, home will always find a way to snake back into their lives. According to Giovanni: “This book was initially a concept to somehow immortalize one of my mentors, Peter Corpus. He embodied a larger than life view of how to live, and was always willing to take time to teach others what he has learned. He remains the hardest working person I have encountered bit most of all, the most caring as well.”